PhD position(s) in Community Ecology and Entomology

University of Maryland, College Park

I am looking for highly motivated graduate students interested in
community ecology and entomology to start September 2008 in the
Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park.

My research in concerned with the dynamics, structure, and
maintenance of biodiversity in ecological communities. In particular,
I explore how geochemical resources and consumers interactively
constrain community structure, diversity, and biotic invasions; how
scales of space and time affect the strength of trophic interactions;
how patterns in trophic structure vary across ecosystem types; and
how these insights can be applied to conservation and sustainability.
To date, my field research has focused on hyperdiverse invertebrate
communities and their interactions with plants both above and
belowground. For further information on my research visit:
http://entmcv.umd.edu/?name=dsgruner

Funding with a competitive stipend is guaranteed available for five
years through a combination of fellowships, research and teaching
assistantships. Applicants also are encouraged to apply for available
scholarships and fellowships.

I will consider applicants who wish to pursue research on any aspect
of fundamental or applied population/community/ecosystem ecology.
Applicants should have an undergraduate degree in the Biological
Sciences. Prior research experience as an undergraduate or master's
student is preferred.

The University of Maryland Department of Entomology
http://www.entomology.umd.edu/ has a
strong, collegial and growing group spanning the gamut from applied
economic entomology to theoretical ecological and evolutionary
biology. Students will also benefit from access to: the
interdisciplinary program in Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and
Systematics on campus
http://www.bees.umd.edu/, expertise and
collections of the Smithsonian Institution
http://www.si.edu/ and the Beltsville
Agricultural Research Center of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
http://www.ars.usda.gov/, and the
constellation of facilities within the Maryland Agricultural
Experiment Station http://agresearch.umd.edu/.

The University is simultaneously situated within 5 miles of the
nation's capitol and within several hours of diverse coastal,
freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, offering excellent
opportunities for both field research and recreation.

Interested applicants should send an email with attached CV to Daniel
Gruner dsgruner@umd.edu. Full application
materials are preferred by 1 December 2007 (7 January 2008 deadline),
but candidates should contact me in advance.




Daniel S. Gruner, Assistant Professor
Department of Entomology
4112 Plant Sciences Bldg
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742 U.S.A.
(o) 301-405-3957 (f) 301-314-9290
dsgruner@umd.edu

http://entmcv.umd.edu/?name=dsgruner